How to Train a Puggle

Puggles are a designer breed that began with mating pugs to beagles. This mixture of breeds creates an energetic happy dog that has a short coat and traits both good and bad from both sides of its ancestry. It is not hard to train a puggle if you use consistency and make learning something new a fun adventure. You will need to keep your training sessions short, fast moving and unique to hold a puggle's attention. But once he learns a new behavior, he will love working with you.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Treats Walking shoes Leash and other training tools Toys Crate Chew toys and interactive chew toys

1. Start training your puggle as soon as you bring him home. Put him in a crate to sleep, feed him on a schedule, and create a secure area for him to play in. Having a regular routine makes it easier for a dog to learn how to behave.

2. Potty training is probably the hardest part about training puggles. He will need to be supervised or confined until he learns where he is supposed to go to relieve himself. You can help him along by feeding him on a schedule, not leaving food available when it is not feeding time and taking up his water a few hours before bedtime.

3. Puggles need lots of opportunities to get exercise and socialize with other dogs. Though puggles are not large dogs, part of their heritage comes from beagles. Beagles are working dogs so puggles will need a job as well. Consider agility, freestyle or even flyball as an activity to answer his need for social time and exercise. Daily runs or trips to the dog park will also be necessary.

4. Puggles prefer tricks to obedience training. If you train obedience in the same way you would train him to shake hands or fetch, you will capture his imagination and have an enthusiastic partner in training. Use toys as rewards in addition to novel training treats. Puggles are often responsive to training while in motion. They prefer to sit, stay, and then run around like lunatics for a few seconds before the next cue. Use reward-based training methods, as puggles are sturdy dogs with tender feelings.

5. Puggles can be destructive if bored or anxious. Put his dog food inside of food-dispensing toys instead of his bowl. You might even hide them in several places to allow him to hunt for them. You can also minimize anxiety and overabundant energy by offering plenty of safe chew toys.

6. Some puggles are vocal, others are not. For those that have barking issues, you will need to prevent opportunities to practice barking. Remove access to windows and do not allow him to run along a fence barking at passersby. Do not use a bark collar until you have determined the cause of the barking. If the bark collar eliminates barking, it often causes a different behavioral issue such as chewing or self-mutilation.

Tips & Warnings

• Adequate exercise and socialization is the foundation of reliable training.
• Keep training sessions short and upbeat.
• Be consistent in routine, but occasionally surprise your puggle with a unique reward for a job well done.

Resources

• Puggle Website

[AmyJaine]

on 5/2/2008 Interesting.